Infor has announced another customer win in the Middle East. Saudi Lime Industries Co. (SLIC), a supplier of limestone products, has selected Infor CloudSuite Industrial Enterprise to replace its legacy solution. SLIC will deploy the Infor ERP in a multi-tenant AWS-hosted solution. During the installation process conducted by Infor Professional Services, it will simplify and automate many of its business processes.
Founded in 1977, SLIC has a wide range of limestone products, including limestone, dolomite, quicklime and hydrated lime, plus blocks and bricks. It also has a range of production processes that start with mining and include chemical and manufacturing processes. With the increase in construction partly due to the diversification of the Saudi Arabian economy away from oil and gas, demand for limestone and its associated products is high.
As the company looks to meet this demand, it needed a solution to support its overseas expansion plans. The Business Research Co. estimates that the global limestone market could reach $86.75 billion in 2026, up from $68.32 billion in 2022. That effectively means a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 6.15% over that period. The growth rate for the Middle East is likely to be even higher.
In this climate, SLIC needed to replace its legacy solution with one that would meet its needs both internally and for the domestic and foreign markets.
Selection process
The Infor solution will replace the locally sourced OFIS Soft, which SLIC has used for several years. The decision formed part of a wider transformation strategy called SPARK. SPARK is a digital transformation strategy that has three key aims:
- Simplify its operations
- Raise efficiency
- Capture and analyse valuable data to gain operational and market insights to improve performance.
The Infor ERP solution has the requisite industry capabilities out of the box with configuration rather than customisation to deliver the required business processes. Because of this flexibility, SLIC aims to roll out the solution by May 2023.
Once complete, the solution will enable SLIC to better integrate with its suppliers, partners and customers. The data analysis will enable the company to predict supply chain shortages and take mitigating actions before they impact customers.
Eng. Abdullah Faris, SLIC IT consultant, commented, “One of the key reasons we selected Infor was the feedback we received from the end users in Saudi Lime as part of a vigorous selection process. Infor was the clear leader among the vendors we trialled.
“We were genuinely excited to learn about the capabilities of Infor CloudSuite Industrial Enterprise, which feels as if it has been tailor-made for our company’s needs but with all the convenience of buying an off-the-shelf solution.
“The software does everything we need it to do and more: It is helping us reduce complexity and gain visibility, while increasing our understanding of our business and key markets better, which is a win-win for SLIC and our customers. It also means we’ll be better placed to support Saudi Arabia’s industrial diversification.”
Beyond ERP
SLIC has also opted to roll out the Infor Global Human Resources (GHR) Employee/Manager Self-Service module. The solution will enable SLIC to streamline HR processes and give access to the 370 employees for their HR services on a device at any time or location.
Kerry Koutsikos, Infor vice president and GM for Middle East Africa, commented, “By deploying Infor CloudSuite Industrial Enterprise, SLIC is showing how preconfigured, industry-specific ERP can help companies in specialist industries with complex footprints simplify their business, become agile, and turn their data into a catalyst for continual improvement. We’re excited to support SLIC on its ambitious transformation plan.”
Enterprise Times: What does this mean
Another win for Infor within Saudi Arabia. Koutsikos has brought momentum to the region that seems to be outstripping many others. This is also notable because these are both competitive and net new logos for Infor, which means it is gaining market share and demonstrating its strength in both the regions and its industry-first strategy.
While these may not be large companies yet, they cannot be discounted as the Middle East starts to flexible the financial backing it can deliver these organisations. It is quietly building up some leading companies in its home market that are now contemplating the wider global market.
The decision to select a global-ready solution, such as Infor, indicates that the organisation is now considering the market outside of the Middle East. Once implemented, it will be interesting to see how quickly those ambitions become a reality.
